Hundreds of sleep deprived bargain hunters hit the shops early on the biggest shopping day of the year on Monday.
Shoppers camped out in the wee hours of Monday and in some cases, very late on Sunday night to be one of the first in line at the cash registers of several the city’s electronic stores.
Adam Green, 22, and three friends were third in the Best Buy line at 1:45 a.m. on Monday.
Best Buy general manager Tyler Colby estimated 500 to 600 people were waiting in the line when the doors opened at 6 a.m.
Green said they camped out mainly for the experience.
“But to be honest if we came at about 4 a.m. we would have probably been able to get everything we wanted,” said Green. “We were a little overkill . . . I think the savings were worth it.”
Green estimated they saved between $1,200 and $1,500 collectively on the purchase of two big screen televisions, three blu-ray players, a car stereo, car speakers, cellphone and a few odds and ends.
Colby said at first blush sales seemed to be on par with last year’s numbers. This year shoppers were walking out with deals on cameras, TVs, tablets, iPads, BlackBerry Playbooks, laptops and other big ticket items.
Jason Kelts, 35, and Ragan Turgon, 33, of Red Deer skipped the very early morning rush and headed to the electronic store around 9:30 a.m. Kelts picked up a 40-inch flatscreen Sony TV and Turgon got a deal on a Bose portable music package. They figured they saved about $200 together.
“The line ups weren’t too bad,” said Kelts. “We were in line for about 10 minutes.... it was worth it.”
Retailers in the Bower Place Shopping Centre said it was the typical Boxing Day madness with shoppers streaming in and out of the busy stores throughout the day.
Chastity Barthel and her daughter, Samatha, were two of the first through the doors when the mall opened at 9:30 a.m.
The women always save their Christmas cash for the Boxing Day deals. Barthel said the stores seemed to be just as busy as last year.
The parking lots at Parkland Mall suggested business was booming in the city’s north end mall. But several retailers expected more traffic earlier in the day and were disappointed with the slow showing. The mall opened at 9 a.m.
Seasonal kiosk operator Shelly Nicholson said the mall was full with people but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were shopping.
“There seems to be more people than last year but there are less bags,” she said. “The deals are good but people are being more reserved in their spending. They’re looking but they are not buying.”
Nicole Steudel was hunting for Christmas presents to take back with her to Victoria. The 20-year-old studies in Victoria but has family in Central Alberta.
“This is my first time shopping on Boxing Day,” said Steudel. “I though I’d find better bargains here than in Victoria.”
The shopping madness continues in most stores all week.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com